1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a confocal microspectroscope for use in a laser scanning microscope and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Laser scanning microscopes have been known which scan laser light from laser light sources to irradiate the light to samples and which detect light such as fluorescence and reflected light emitted from the samples.
Among the laser scanning microscopes, in recent years, as to confocal laser scanning microscopes (CLSM), enhancement of functions has advanced with development of fluorescent reagents. For example, as a method to detect the fluorescence from a specimen, in addition to a method in which the fluorescence in a desired wavelength region has heretofore been detected using a filter, a method has been put to practical use in which the fluorescence from the specimen is dispersed into fluorescent spectra using a diffraction grating and the like, and the fluorescent spectra are detected by a detection unit having a plurality of detection channels. According to this fluorescent spectral detecting method, the fluorescent spectrum inherent in each fluorescent reagent can be analyzed/quantized in detail.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2002/0020819 discloses the following fluorescent spectral detecting method. The fluorescent reagent for use in dyeing the specimen is excited by the laser light from the laser light source, and the fluorescence emitted from the excited fluorescent reagent is dispersed into the fluorescent spectra using the diffraction grating. Moreover, a spectral intensity of the fluorescent spectrum having each wavelength is detected by a multi-channel detection unit having a plurality of detection channels. In this case, in the laser light sources, a plurality of laser light sources which emit laser light having different wavelengths and high monochromaticity have been used, and the laser light sources have been used in accordance with an excitation wavelength of the fluorescent reagent.